Doorbolt



W. D. FERRIS DOORBOLT Filed May 10, 1928 lllll rl Eli/$77157 1 2,70 ,116

June 17, 1930.

Patented June 17, 1930 UNIT rf'rss PATENT OFFICE 7 WILLIAM J). nnnn s,on srnnnIiiG, I .t I\IoIs, nss'ienon rossnnrz nnhemorname 00., OFSTERLING, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION on ILLI Nois nooniionr Application'fi-led May in, 192's. shin-n0. ea-e545.

This invention relates to bolts or latches for doors or windows,especially for doors or windows that are hinged. to swing open and shut,and more particularly to bolts or latches for this purpose that look thetop of the door in closed position, and which have a chain or cord whichcan be pulled to disengagethe bolt from it's socket or engaging meanswhen it is desired to open the door or window.

Generally stated, the object of the inventi'on is to provide a novel andimproved construction whereby a bolt or latch of this character can beoperated from" outside the door or window, as well as from inside, meansbeing provided toeXert a pull on the said chain or cord from outside thedoor, as well as from inside thereof.

It is also an object t provide certain details and features ofconstruction and combinations tending toincrease the efiiciency and thedesirability of a pull cord or chain bolt orlat'ch ofthis particularcharacter.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in thematters hereinafter set forth and claimed, and shown in themcompanyingdrawings,in which,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a portion of a door and the overheadportion of the door frame, showing a bolt or latch therefor embodyingthe principlesof the invention, portions of said bolt or latch mechanismbeing.

shown in vertical section, and certain parts of the door and the pullchain being shown I broken away for convenience of illustration;

F 2 is an enlarged view lookin down on the said bolt or latch mechanlsm,s owing 'the'adjaeent portion of the door in horizontal section;

4 Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section on 4 preferably insidethereof; Inside this casing there a hollow bolt member 3 that is adaptedto move up anddown, a pivoted catch 1 being pivoted on this bolt memberat 5, as shown. The bolt member may be formed of sheet metal, as shown,and the ears 6, between which the catch l is pivoted, extend outward andare movableup and down in the guide slot 7 formed in the outer side ofthe casing. .A cross piece 8 is suitably attached to the side walls ofthe casing and forms a guide for the other side of the verticallyreciprocating bolt member. A coiled spring 9 has its upper end inengagement with the under side of thecatch 4,'and the lower end of thisspring rests on the support 10, which 4:, as shown. An angle piece 13 issecured to the overhead portion 14 of the doorway,by screws 15 or anyother suitable means, this angle piece having a lower horizontal flange16 and'being' provided with an opening 17 in the elbow between thevertical and horizontal portions of this angle piece, which latterserves as a strike piece for the bolt member and the catch. Q

When the door is fully closed, the overhanging upper end 18 of the bolt.meniber rests on the flange 16, and the hook portion 19 of thecatch isin engagement with the openingl'i, whereby the door is supported by thebolt member and the angle piece, and is of the catch with the opening 17of the strike .Iece. p In order that the bolt and catch mechanismthusprovided may be operated from outside the dooryas well as from.inside thereof, the inner side' of the door is provided witha handle orgrip 20, and the outer side of the doorisprovided with a bracket 21having upper'and lower guides 22 and 23. for the vertical portions 24and 25 of the handle 26, whereby this handle is moved up and down.

latched in closedposition by the engagement doors.

An arm 27 is mounted on the upper vertical portion 24 of the outsidehandle, and extends through a slot 28 in the door. A pull chain or cord,or other connection, 29, connects the lower end of the rod 11 with thearm 27 in the manner shown. A thumb piece 30 is pivoted at 31 on theupper portion of the handle 20, which latter is rigidly fastened to theinner side of the door. This thumb piece has an opening 32 therein,through which the lower end portion of the pull chain 29 extendsdownward and is fastened to the arm 27 previously mentioned.

With this construction, the door can be unlatched or unbolted from theoutside, by moving the handle 26 downward. The initial pull willdisengage the catch 4 from the opening 17, so that the door can bepushed inward, thus disengaging the overhanging bolt portion 18 from theflange 16 of the strike piece. Similarly, the door can be unbolted orunlatched from the inside, by pressing down on the thumb piece 30, asthis will exert a pull on the rod 11 and chain 29 and disengage thecatch from the strike piece.

If, during the opening and closing movements of the door, it isnecessary for the bolt member 3 to pass under something, a pull on thechain 29, either by the handle 26 or the thumb piece 30, will pull thecatch 4 downward to the limit of its downward movement, until it strikesthe lower edge 33 of the slot 34 in the cross piece 8, and the loweredge 35 of the slot 7 in the case. This, of course, will pull the boltmember 3 itself downward a distance, until it is low enough to passunder any obstruction that may be in its path. The bolt 3 has slots 36and 37 therein for the catch 4, permitting the latter to move up anddown relatively to the bolt.

Thus a pull chain or cord bolt mechanism, or latch mechanism, isprovided that can be operated or controlled from outside the door orwindow, as well as from inside thereof, whenever such is necessary ordesirable.

The arrangement shown and described can be used on ordinary single doorsthat swing, of course, or on the swinging sections of sliding garagedoors, or on other doors. As shown, the swinging door 38 may be either asingle or ordinary swinging door, or it may be the swinging section ofsliding garage In any event, a swinging door or door section 38 issupported by the bolt 3 on the flange 16 of the strike piece, in closedposition, so that the door will not sag in this position. The handle 26is preferably swiveled to turn in the bearings 22 and 23, so that thishandle may be folded back against the outside of the door, for anypurpose desired. For example, this would be necessary or desirable whenthe invention is used on the swinging section of sliding garage doors,in order to prevent the handle from striking the side of the buildingwhen the doors slide around the corner, so to speak, from the doorway,to a position close to the side of the building. The spring 9, ofcourse, normally holds the thumb piece 30 and the handle 26 in raisedposition, the lower edge of the cross piece 8 forming a stop for theprojecting portion 39 on the lower end portion of the bolt member 3,thus limiting the upward movement. It will also be seen that the portion40 of the handle 20 may function as a stop to limit the upward movementof the thumb piece 30, thereby limiting the upward movement of the arm27 and the handle 26 in turn.

If the door 38 is the swinging section of sliding garage doors, then astrike piece similar to the strike piece 13 may be fastened to or madeintegral with the body of a traveling door hanger (not shown), wherebythe bolt member 13 may support the swinging door section in openposition, as well as in closed position, and whereby the catch 1 mayhold the door in open position as well as in closed position.

lVithout disclaiming anything, and without prejudice to any noveltydisclosed, What I claim as my invention is:

1. In overhead bolt or latch mechanism for doors, the combination of astrike piece on the building over the doorway, a verticallyreciprocating bolt member, a catch pivoted on said bolt member, a pullconnection attached to said catch, a spring normally holding said catchand bolt member in raised position, said bolt member having anoverhanging portion to rest upon said strike piece when the door is inclosed position, and said strike piece having means for engaging saidcatch to latch the door in closed position.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, said mechanism comprising asheet-metal casing in which said bolt member is free to move up anddown, said member having two ears, the casing having a slot for the twoears with which the bolt member is provided, forming a guide, and saidcatch being pivoted upon and between said ears.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, said strike piece having anopening to receive an upturned end portion of said catch, saidoverhanging portion and upturned portion extending toward each other anddisposed in the same vertical plane.

4. The combination of a vertically reciproeating bolt member for theupper portion of a swinging door, a strike piece for said bolt over thedoorway, said bolt member having means to engage and overhang a portionof said strike piece when the door is in closed position, whereby thebolt member and strike piece co-operate to support and prevent saggingof the swinging door in closed position, and means for operating saidbolt member up and down.

5. A structure as specified in claim 4, said bolt member having apivoted catch for also engaging said strike piece to latch the door inclosed position, saidcatch being disengageable downwardly from saidstrike piece by the initial downward pull on said bolt operating means.

6. A structure as specified in claim 4, said bolt member having apivoted catch for engaging the strike piece, thereby to latch the doorin closed position, and means for disengaging said catch from the strikepiece, and for pulling the bolt member downward.

Specification signed this seventh day of May, 1928.

' WILLIAM D. FERRIS.

